The Climate Impact of the Norwegian Cultural Sector and Creative Industries

Introduction

• Which parts of the Norwegian Cultural Sector are we discussing in this report?

  Utvid

  The Norwegian cultural sector is rich in artistic expressions and forms. This is also reflected in its organization, where the cultural sector encompasses many different types and sizes of businesses. In this analysis, we have chosen to look more closely at the audience-oriented parts of the cultural sector: performing artists in music, performing arts, and visual arts, those who enable the art through audiovisual or digital production, other related service providers, and the places where the audience meets the art, such as concert venues, cultural houses, cinemas, and museums. 

  This report attempts to address this by providing an overview of the climate impact of the Norwegian cultural sector for 2022 by preparing a consumption-based greenhouse gas inventory. Such an inventory includes both direct emissions from a business, as well as indirect emissions associated with the business’s consumption of goods and services. Calculating the indirect emissions links greenhouse gas emissions and resource use between different industries in a cross-sectoral flow. This emissions model was developed by Asplan Viak and forms part of the basis for the climate accounting tool Klimakost. 

  A particular challenge in analyzing cultural businesses is that very different types of businesses are grouped under the same industry codes. In the same industry code (90), you find on one side large institutional theaters with full ensembles and property management, and on the other side, any small band that fits all its instruments in a small van. 

  To address these challenges, Energi.ai, on behalf of the project partners, has collected detailed accounting information from a selection of cultural businesses for the fiscal year 2022, so that the unique characteristics of resource use that distinguish different parts of the cultural sector are highlighted. 

  This forms the basis for part 1 of the analysis. In part 2 of the analysis, we use the cross-sectoral model at the industry level to make a simplified estimate of the total greenhouse gas emissions of the cultural sector, and how these are distributed between different areas and company sizes.

• A climate account is a good start, but it doesn’t tell everything

  Utvid

  The report “Culture and Climate Justice in Norway” (Klimakultur and Rosendal Theatre, 2023) summarizes the issues surrounding measurements and other work precisely: “Climate calculators provide insight into the cold facts about one’s own consumption, but little knowledge about the system we are part of and what it takes to create a world that distributes wealth and resources in a fair way.” 

  Our estimate of the greenhouse gas emissions from the Norwegian cultural sector primarily says something about the impact the cultural sector has on emissions of greenhouse gases that lead to global warming and cause the climate to change. For businesses that want to measure their own impact on sustainable development, a greenhouse gas account is a good start. 

  However, what a greenhouse gas account does not say is the impact the Norwegian cultural sector has on other areas of society. It says nothing about how the cultural sector affects the development of vibrant local communities, nor about the extent of the impact cultural sector businesses have on biodiversity or human rights. 

  In discussions about what contributes to sustainable development, there can be contradictions between measures that result in lower greenhouse gas emissions and measures that preserve biodiversity and safeguard human rights. For both individual businesses, organizations, and authorities, it is important to have a holistic approach to measures that provide a better outcome for climate, environment, people, and society. 

  The results of this analysis cannot be compared with national total greenhouse gas emissions. This is because the national greenhouse gas inventory for Norway includes the direct emissions that occur within the country’s borders. In contrast, the climate footprint for businesses includes their suppliers’ direct emissions in Norway (providing a basis for double counting in Norway) and abroad (outside the national greenhouse gas inventory). 

• Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Norwegian Cultural Sector in 2022

  Utvid

  Asplan Viak has estimated the total footprint of the Norwegian cultural sector to be approximately 774,000 tons of CO2e for 2022 (excluding investments in buildings, technical facilities, and inventory). As the analysis shows, the cultural sector’s largest emissions come from the purchase of goods and services – primarily from scope 3. Direct emissions in scope 1 are estimated to be only 1.8%, while indirect emissions from purchased energy are estimated to be 2.5%. 

  Distribution by Categories of Input Factors and Direct Emissions

  

  Emissions from: Goods/raw materials, service purchases, transport and travel, buildings, energy, waste, direct emissions 

  Emissons from Purchase of Goods and Services
  According to Statistics Norway (SSB), enterprises in the category “Culture, entertainment, and leisure” purchased goods worth approximately NOK 5.3 billion in 2022. Similarly, the same enterprises had operating costs excluding wages of NOK 60.5 billion in the same year. 

  In our sample of 133 enterprises that submitted their accounting data for this analysis in part 1, purchases of goods and services amounted to over NOK 1.5 billion and about 59% of greenhouse gas emissions. This category of emissions includes all goods, services, and products delivered by others. This includes, among other things, goods for sale, operating materials, purchase of services, hired labor for, e.g., security and catering, and the purchases are distributed among a large number of suppliers. 

  Need for Better Guidance in the Purchase of Food, Materials, and Equipment Competence in climate and environment is crucial to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact from the Norwegian cultural sector. Networks at local, national, and international levels for sharing knowledge and experiences are essential for success. Likewise, concrete guidelines and recommendations for which choices cultural workers can make to reduce climate emissions from cultural productions are important. It is especially important that relevant guides are developed for the purchase of food, materials, and equipment for cultural productions, in light of this being the largest source of emissions from the Norwegian cultural sector. 

• It is generally better for the climate to rent rather than buy to own

  Utvid

  As the analysis shows, the cultural sector’s largest emissions come from the purchase of goods and services. However, as the analysis also indicates, renting technical equipment, tools, or props for a performance also leads to climate emissions. This is because the renter must purchase the equipment. Additionally, the renter incurs costs related to storage, distribution, operation, and maintenance of the equipment. 

  Renting generally results in significantly lower emissions than owning, because the equipment is shared among more people, thus reducing the emissions from production. The climate benefit is particularly significant if the equipment is used infrequently, for short periods, and does not need to be transported far. An analysis conducted by students at NMBU on behalf of Jernia and the software company Sharefox showed that if everyone buys and owns their own tool, approximately 12 times more tools per user would need to be produced compared to if everyone chooses to rent. This results in 12 times higher emissions from the production of the tool for a customer who owns compared to a customer who rents. 

  What can increase emissions, even if the equipment is rented, is if the equipment is transported long distances and frequently, using vehicles that run on gasoline or diesel. 

  Consumption of goods, such as technical equipment, also causes other environmental problems besides climate emissions. For example, the production of electronics uses metals and minerals that are scarce in nature and which we currently do not recycle enough. Additionally, mining causes significant environmental disruption and poses certain health and safety risks to those working in the mines. 

• Emissions from energy use are low – but energy saving is still important

  Utvid

  In Norway, we produce a lot of renewable energy, and even though a greenhouse gas inventory also includes the energy we import from other countries, the average for the entire energy sector is quite close to what we call the Norwegian consumption mix. When energy consumption is “translated” into climate emissions, this does not constitute a significant expense in a climate account. 

  For Norway to reduce its climate emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990, as we have committed to through the Paris Agreement, access to sufficient renewable energy is a key factor. Electric vehicles are one of several measures to reduce emissions from transport. However, this requires large amounts of electricity. 

  Saving energy in the cultural sector, for example by reducing the energy used to heat buildings or for technical equipment, frees up a lot of renewable energy that can be used to reduce emissions in other sectors, such as transport. So even though the energy used by the cultural sector does not account for a high proportion of climate emissions, there are other good reasons to reduce energy consumption. Therefore, it is important to continue saving energy.

• Travel emissions are higher than the analysis shows

  Utvid

  A consumption-based climate account has some weaknesses. For example, most businesses have these expenses accounted for as part of a broader travel account. The calculation model assumes that 50% of the expenses on travel accounts are flights (the rest are hotels, restaurants, etc.). This means that some businesses will underestimate travel emissions, and some will overestimate them, depending on the proportion spent on flights. Better precision in this area requires the use of physical activity data and LCA-based emission factors. 

  Additionally, if the business has not paid for the travel of hired contributors, the emissions from these trips will not be included in our estimate. The same applies to visiting audiences. Calculating the footprint of a visiting audience requires different methods and deserves a separate analysis.

• Large amounts of waste – but it doesn’t show in the greenhouse gas accounts

  Utvid

  Many who work in the Norwegian cultural sector have been involved in discarding a lot after a production. It is rarely out of ill will, but because there are no good solutions for storing, keeping track of, or sharing costumes, props, and other materials that are a natural part of many cultural productions. 

  Nevertheless, waste accounts for a very low proportion of emissions in our estimate of greenhouse gas emissions from the Norwegian cultural sector. The emissions are calculated through the purchase of waste management services in the emissions model. Experiences from previous climate accounts that have used physical activity data for waste show that the total climate footprint by calculating emissions in this way is quite close to the result from the purchase of waste management services. 

  The amount of waste generated depends on many factors. First and foremost, it is important to ask whether the cultural production can be designed to avoid unnecessary purchases. For example, it may be necessary to ask how often an exhibition should be replaced, whether it is possible to rent or borrow costumes, props, or equipment, or whether it is possible to reuse something you already have. 

  Furthermore, the amount of waste depends on the requirements the business sets for the lifespan and quality of materials and equipment, and whether the business takes measures to reduce the use of disposable packaging. 

  By reducing the amount of waste through purchasing fewer goods, the cultural sector can contribute to a significant reduction in emissions from the production and transport of goods. 

  Although waste management itself results in low emissions in the climate accounts, sorting waste into different fractions, such as cardboard, textiles, plastic, glass, and metal packaging, or food, is crucial for us to be able to recycle these into new materials and use them as raw materials in the production of new products. Furthermore, it is important to have good systems for handling waste to prevent littering of nature and the sea. 

  The potential benefit from recycling waste (waste can produce new products that replace virgin production) is not included in the emission factors in this analysis.